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Chitral
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Chitral_(princely_state)/qPjbCfgT">Chitral (princely state)</a></p> <p>Nothing definitive is recorded about the town's first settlers. In the 3rd century AD, <a href="/facts/Kanishka/pbQtD4eF">Kanishka</a>, the ruler of the <a href="/facts/Kushan_Empire/QvUh1thw">Kushan Empire</a>, occupied Chitral. In the 4th century AD, the Chinese overran the valley. Raees rule over Chitral began in 1320 and came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the capital of the princely state of Chitral under the rule of the <a href="/facts/Katur_Dynasty/3W3LJNgk">Katur Dynasty</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h3>Ancient era</h3> <p>The existence of the <a href="/facts/Gandhara_grave_culture/bNcotwXg">Gandharan Grave Culture</a> in Chitral,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> found in various grave sites scattered over its valleys gives an insightful knowledge of its inhabitants following the <a href="/facts/Indo-Aryan_migrations/B1X5mCbl">Indo-Aryan migrations</a>, after the decline of <a href="/facts/Indus_Valley_Civilisation/6xM4aK23">Indus Valley civilization</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The Gankorineotek cemetery in <a href="/facts/Singoor/7QGYAMrW">Singoor</a> is home to several ancient burial sites, dating back to the <a href="/facts/Vedic_period/B357Bokz">Vedic period</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>The area which now forms Chitral was reportedly conquered by the <a href="/facts/Achaemenid_Empire/avlzWxF0">Persian Achaemenids</a> and was a part of one of their easternmost satraps.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> In the third century CE, <a href="/facts/Kanishka/pbQtD4eF">Kanishka</a>, the Buddhist ruler of the <a href="/facts/Kushan_Empire/QvUh1thw">Kushan empire</a>, occupied Chitral. Under the Kushans, many Buddhist monuments were built around the area, mainly Buddhist stupas and monasteries. The Kushans also patronised Buddhist art; some of the finest examples of the image of Buddha were produced in the region under the Kushan rule.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h3>Kator era</h3> <p>From 1571 to 1969, Chitral was the dominion of the <a href="/facts/Katoor_Dynasty/3W3LJNgk">Kator Dynasty</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The British and Sikh garrison suffered a <a href="/facts/Chitral_Expedition/IktC6FMB">siege</a> by the Chitralis, possibly aided by Afghan forces, in 1895. The garrison was relieved after six weeks, and the British installed the young <a href="/facts/Shuja_ul-Mulk/0FquNolW">Shuja ul-Mulk</a> as <i>Mehtar</i> ("ruler"). He ruled for the next 41 years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h3>Accession to Pakistan</h3> <p>In 1947, following the division of the British colony of India, princely states were offered the choice to either remain independent or to choose one of the two new dominions. Initially, Chitral chose to remain an independent Monarchy. Later, the Mehtar of Chitral, who was a friend of Quaid E Azam <a href="/facts/Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah/CCxlj4CJ">Mohammad Ali Jinnah</a>, acceded to Pakistan and thus Chitral became one of the <a href="/facts/Princely_states_of_Pakistan/e6cc5znW">princely states of Pakistan</a>. Through 1969 to 1972, it was fully integrated into Pakistan as the administrative district of Chitral.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h3>Role in the First Kashmir War</h3> <p>Chitral played an instrumental role in the 1947–1948 <a href="/facts/Indo-Pakistani_War_of_1947%E2%80%931948/QP0jUU0w">first Kashmir war</a>. Immediately after acceding to Pakistan, <a href="/facts/Muzaffar_ul-Mulk/Dyr70Sv0">Mehtar Muzaffar ul-Mulk</a> proclaimed <a href="/facts/Jihad/DerLM18J">Jihad</a> to 'liberate' <a href="/facts/Kashmir/Rok34JM5">Kashmir</a> from the <a href="/facts/Dogras/gBMnpyMC">Dogras</a>. At this point, the Gilgit scouts were retreating and the Dogra forces had made gains in the Burzil pass. Under these circumstances, the <a href="/facts/Chitral_Scouts/2IT2mQvA">Chitral scouts</a> relieved the <a href="/facts/Gilgit_Scouts/yy7XB2TL">Gilgit scouts</a> in Domel and Kamri sectors whilst the <a href="/facts/Chitral_Bodyguard/r7uk4wEu">Chitral Bodyguard</a> force went towards <a href="/facts/Skardu/LLB3Uxf6">Skardu</a>. The Chitral bodyguards under the leadership of a Chitral Prince laid one of the longest sieges in military history which ended with the fall of Skardu, the surrender of the Dogras, and the capture of <a href="/facts/Baltistan/APS7ghSz">Baltistan</a>. During this time, the Chitral scouts assimilated with the Gilgit scouts and went on towards taking the Kargil pass.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="geography">Geography</h2> <p>The city has an average elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft). </p> <h2 id="climate">Climate</h2> <p>In contrast to more southerly valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chitral has a dry <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_climate/gGsJAKE5">Mediterranean climate</a> (<a href="/facts/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification/VDcr86hF">Köppen</a> <i>Csa</i>) with almost no rainfall during the very hot summers. Precipitation occurs mainly from spring thunderstorms brought about by western frontal systems. In the winter the nighttime temperature occasionally drops to −10 °C. Winter snowfall in the town can be quite heavy with an accumulation of up to 60 cm being quite common, at higher elevations snowfall can reach as high as 20 metres (70 ft). </p> <table><tbody><tr><th colspan="14">Climate data for Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">Month</th><th scope="col">Jan</th><th scope="col">Feb</th><th scope="col">Mar</th><th scope="col">Apr</th><th scope="col">May</th><th scope="col">Jun</th><th scope="col">Jul</th><th scope="col">Aug</th><th scope="col">Sep</th><th scope="col">Oct</th><th scope="col">Nov</th><th scope="col">Dec</th><th scope="col">Year</th></tr><tr><th scope="row">Record high °C (°F)</th><td>16.9(62.4)</td><td>21.0(69.8)</td><td>28.0(82.4)</td><td>34.3(93.7)</td><td>38.3(100.9)</td><td>42.5(108.5)</td><td>44.4(111.9)</td><td>42.2(108.0)</td><td>39.8(103.6)</td><td>34.4(93.9)</td><td>27.0(80.6)</td><td>20.7(69.3)</td><td>44.4(111.9)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Mean daily maximum °C (°F)</th><td>8.8(47.8)</td><td>9.9(49.8)</td><td>15.1(59.2)</td><td>22.5(72.5)</td><td>28.2(82.8)</td><td>34.4(93.9)</td><td>35.9(96.6)</td><td>34.4(93.9)</td><td>31.1(88.0)</td><td>25.1(77.2)</td><td>18.7(65.7)</td><td>11.6(52.9)</td><td>23.0(73.4)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Daily mean °C (°F)</th><td>4.1(39.4)</td><td>5.3(41.5)</td><td>9.6(49.3)</td><td>15.5(59.9)</td><td>20.3(68.5)</td><td>26.1(79.0)</td><td>28.0(82.4)</td><td>26.5(79.7)</td><td>22.1(71.8)</td><td>16.2(61.2)</td><td>10.8(51.4)</td><td>5.9(42.6)</td><td>15.9(60.6)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Mean daily minimum °C (°F)</th><td>−0.6(30.9)</td><td>0.6(33.1)</td><td>4.2(39.6)</td><td>8.5(47.3)</td><td>12.5(54.5)</td><td>17.8(64.0)</td><td>20.2(68.4)</td><td>18.7(65.7)</td><td>13.1(55.6)</td><td>7.2(45.0)</td><td>2.9(37.2)</td><td>0.2(32.4)</td><td>8.8(47.8)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Record low °C (°F)</th><td>−11.0(12.2)</td><td>−11.0(12.2)</td><td>−3.7(25.3)</td><td>0.0(32.0)</td><td>4.4(39.9)</td><td>8.9(48.0)</td><td>11.1(52.0)</td><td>10.6(51.1)</td><td>5.6(42.1)</td><td>1.1(34.0)</td><td>−3.0(26.6)</td><td>−12.2(10.0)</td><td>−12.2(10.0)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Average <a href="/facts/Precipitation/uq3nGQc8">precipitation</a> mm (inches)</th><td>38.4(1.51)</td><td>63.8(2.51)</td><td>97.3(3.83)</td><td>71.7(2.82)</td><td>43.9(1.73)</td><td>5.1(0.20)</td><td>4.9(0.19)</td><td>8.0(0.31)</td><td>7.3(0.29)</td><td>15.6(0.61)</td><td>20.4(0.80)</td><td>38.5(1.52)</td><td>414.9(16.32)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row">Mean monthly <a href="/facts/Sunshine_duration/wVBusklh">sunshine hours</a></th><td>134.0</td><td>133.7</td><td>150.4</td><td>188.6</td><td>247.0</td><td>286.3</td><td>285.4</td><td>258.6</td><td>231.0</td><td>214.0</td><td>182.5</td><td>130.7</td><td>2,442.2</td></tr><tr><td colspan="14">Source: NOAA (1971-1990) <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="demographics">Demographics</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Languages_of_Chitral/EJb0uxnN">Languages of Chitral</a></p> <p><a href="/facts/Urdu/oLrhuXc6">Urdu</a> is the official language of the city.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> According to the 1981 census, <a href="/facts/Khowar_language/yXwAQvfo">Khowar</a> is the main language and is spoken by 98% of the population. <a href="/facts/Kalasha-mun/Y3mAGG3R">Kalasha</a> is also spoken by a small population.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>As per the 2017 census, Chitral has a population of 49,780.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h3>Historical demographics</h3> <i>Religion in the town of Chitral</i><table><tbody><tr><th>Religion</th><th>Population (1901)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></th><th>Percentage (1901)</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a> </td><td>3,452</td><td>42.47%</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Hinduism/oxV9YvQh">Hinduism</a> </td><td>2,709</td><td>33.33%</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Sikhism/obh7aQIr">Sikhism</a> </td><td>1,826</td><td>22.47%</td></tr><tr><th>Total</th><td>8,128</td><td>100%</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="educational-institutions">Educational institutions</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/University_of_Chitral/9JxacFwh">University of Chitral</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notable-people">Notable people</h2> <p class="note">Further information: <a href="/facts/List_of_Chitrali_people/ahsBJ0pA">List of Chitrali people</a></p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Falak_Naz/4JFQ9D6C">Falak Naz Chitrali</a> (Member of <a href="/facts/Senate_of_Pakistan/r6SC3z3q">Senate of Pakistan</a>)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Wazir_Zada/JSXIS7HH">Wazir Zada</a> (<a href="/facts/Member_of_the_Provincial_Assembly/P4sv96Eb">Member of Provincial Assembly</a> of <a href="/facts/Provincial_Assembly_of_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa/zIGuHXq5">KPK</a>)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Abdul_Akbar_Chitrali/M3NkTBW0">Abdul Akbar Chitrali</a> (<a href="/facts/Member_of_the_National_Assembly/HtpMtdpP">Member of National Assembly</a> of <a href="/facts/National_Assembly_of_Pakistan/UWXYFunH">National Assembly of Pakistan</a>)</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Chitral_Tehsil/tXpkKnvJ">Chitral Tehsil</a></li></ul> <h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2> <ul><li>Decker, D. Kendall (1992). <a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850"><i>Languages of Chitral</i></a>. Ishi Press International. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 4871875202.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Algernon_Durand/ax6HwDw1">Durand, Algernon</a> (1899). <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/scanned/durand.htm"><i>The Making of a frontier</i></a>.</li> <li>Leitner, G. W. (1893). <i>Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893: Being An Account of the History, Religions, Customs, Legends, Fables and Songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial) Yasin, Chitral, Hunza, Nagyr and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of The Hunza and Nagyr Handbook. And An Epitome of Part III of the author's The Languages and Races of Dardistan</i> (First reprint ed.). New Delhi: Manjusri Publishing House. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 4871877787.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Allan, Nigel J. R.; Buddruss, Georg (1991). <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chitral-citral-river-valley-in-the-upper-indus-system">"CHITRAL"</a>. <i>Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 5</i>. pp. 487–494.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikivoyage has a travel guide for <i>Chitral</i>. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chitral (city). <ul><li><a href="http://www.chitral.gov.pk/">Official website</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110225010611/http://khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk/">Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131113155012/http://www.pakp.gov.pk/index.php/members/bydistrict/en/19/90">Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower Dir</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120702153921/http://complex.pakresponse.info/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=IYXTHUT6_Cs%3D&tabid=65&mid=436">United Nations</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Khyber Pakhtūnkhwā / North-West Frontier (Pakistan): Province, Major Cities, Municipalites & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 30 May 2022. <a href="https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/khyberpakhtunkhwa/" target="_blank">https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/khyberpakhtunkhwa/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Chitral, a Study in Statecraft" (PDF). IUCN. <a href="http://www.iucn.pk/publications/Chitral-A%20Study%20in%20Statecraft.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iucn.pk/publications/Chitral-A%20Study%20in%20Statecraft.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Ali, Ihsan; Batt, Cathy; Coningham, Robin; Young, Ruth (1 September 2002). "New exploration in the Chitral Valley, Pakistan: an extension of the Gandharan Grave culture". Antiquity. 76 (293): 647–654. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00091055. S2CID 53462554. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via go.gale.com. <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=0003598X&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA92286550&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs" target="_blank">https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=0003598X&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA92286550&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Schug, Gwen Robbins; Walimbe, Subhash R. (13 April 2016). A Companion to South Asia in the Past. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-05547-1. <a href="978-1-119-05547-1" target="_blank">978-1-119-05547-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Hemphill, Brian E.; Zahir, Muhammad; Ali, Ihsan (29 December 2017). "Skeletal Analysis of Gandharan Graves at Shah Mirandeh, Singoor, Chitral". <a href="https://www.prdb.pk/article/skeletal-analysis-of-gandharan-graves-at-shah-mirandeh-sing-7912" target="_blank">https://www.prdb.pk/article/skeletal-analysis-of-gandharan-graves-at-shah-mirandeh-sing-7912</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Scientists say discovery of 3,000-year-old burial site key to tracing origins of Pakistan's Chitral". Arab News PK. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022. <a href="https://arab.news/5w9g3" target="_blank">https://arab.news/5w9g3</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Notes on Chitral. L.D. Scott. 1903. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Gurdon's Report on Chitral. Gurdon. 1903. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Chitral, a Study in Statecraft" (PDF). IUCN. Retrieved 6 November 2015. <a href="http://www.iucn.pk/publications/Chitral-A%20Study%20in%20Statecraft.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.iucn.pk/publications/Chitral-A%20Study%20in%20Statecraft.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Holdich, Thomas Hungerford (1911). "Chitral" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 251–252. <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Holdich" target="_blank">/wiki/Thomas_Holdich</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Osella, Filippo; Soares, Benjamin (2010). Islam, Politics, Anthropology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4443-2441-9. <a href="978-1-4443-2441-9" target="_blank">978-1-4443-2441-9</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Full text of "An Illustrated History of Chitral Scouts 1900-2015"". archive.org. Retrieved 2 February 2020. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/ChitralBookMarch2014/Chitral%20Book%20march%202014_djvu.txt" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/ChitralBookMarch2014/Chitral%20Book%20march%202014_djvu.txt</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Chitral Climate Normals 1971-1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 16 January 2013. <a href="ftp://dossier.ogp.noaa.gov/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/PK/41506.TXT" target="_blank">ftp://dossier.ogp.noaa.gov/GCOS/WMO-Normals/RA-II/PK/41506.TXT</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Indo-Iranian Frontier Languages". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2015. <a href="https://iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-iranian-frontier-languages-and-the-influence-of-persian" target="_blank">https://iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-iranian-frontier-languages-and-the-influence-of-persian</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Population Demography". Kpktribune.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171228024229/http://kpktribune.com/index.php/en/population-demography/405-khyber-pakhtunkhwa/kp-divisions" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20171228024229/http://kpktribune.com/index.php/en/population-demography/405-khyber-pakhtunkhwa/kp-divisions</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Khyber Pakhtūnkhwā / North-West Frontier (Pakistan): Province, Major Cities, Municipalites & Towns - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 30 May 2022. <a href="https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/khyberpakhtunkhwa/" target="_blank">https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/khyberpakhtunkhwa/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province" (PDF). 24 October 2023. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/saoa.crl.25363739.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/saoa.crl.25363739.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>